Seal-lock



(ModelJ' l R. PREW. SEAL LOOK.

No. 274,929. I I Patented Ap'r.3,1883.

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(UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIEE.

ROBERT FREW, OF PITTSB URG, PENNSYLVANIA.

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SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 274,929, dated April 3, 1883.

' Application filed September 27, 1882. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT FREW, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and'useful Improvement in Seal-Locks for Railroad-Cars;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My improvement relates to an improvement in that class of seal-locks wherein the seal is composed of a frangible material and arranged in connection with the look so that it can be released by the fracture of the seal. It is designed for use on freight-cars, and also on other articles where a seal-lock is required.

I will now describe my invention, so that others skilled in the art may manufacture and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the look as applied to a freight-car. Fig. 2 is a cross-section of the same,'and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation "of the lock.

Like letters refer tolike parts wherever they occur.

In the drawings, a represents the front plate of the lock, which is attached to the side of thecar by bolts or screws. Extendingthrough the plate a and the side of the car is a rod or shaft, b, having an arm or lug, c, keyed to its end outside of the plate a. This shaft is socured on the inside of the car or the plate a, so as to prevent its being removed, and yet so as to allow of an axial movement. Keyed to the shaft 1), behind the plate a, and fitting in a recess in the side of the car, is a ratchetwheel, (I, which engages with a pawl, 6, so as to permit of the shaft b being moved axially, but in one direction. A spring, f, bears on the pawl 0, so as to cause it at all times to engage with the ratchet-wheel d. On the face of the plate a, below the shaft b, is a bracket, h, for holding the seal 'i. This seal may be formed of any frangible material-such as glass or metal-and it is provided with a lug or projectiomj, forming an integral part of the same. Attached to the door of the car is a pivoted bar or hasp,lc,provided with one or more slots, 1, extending through the same, and adapted to allow of the passage through them of the arm 0, when the arm is in a horizontal position. This pivoted bar or hasp it, when in position for locking, crossesthe top of the seal-bracket 2', so that the seal cannot be withdrawn without removing the hasp. 'By such is then placed in the bracket h, and the hasp 7c is brought into position, so that the arm 0 shall pass through the slot 5. The shaft bis then turned on its axis until the arm cengages with the projection j on the seal 6, which prevents the shaft being turned farther in this direction, while the pawlcand' ratchet Wheel 01 prevent the movement of the shaft in the reverse direction. The seal is thereby secured in the bracket, and the door of the car is securely locked, and cannot beunlocked without breaking the seal,so as to remove the projection j and allow the arm 0 to be again brought into a horizontal position, extending toward the door of the car, when the hasp k may be released from the arm a and the door opened.

The advantages of my invention are that it is simple, cheap, and easily operated, and affords a perfect protection to the lock, and obviates the necessity of using a chain and pin. The shaft I), being keyed inside of the car, the lock cannot be removed from the outside by removing the bolts or screws which socure the face-plate 0,.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is-- I In a seal-lock, the combination of a looking lug or key mounted on a shaft adapted to rotate in a single direction, a seal-retaining bracket arranged in the path of the rotating locking-lug, and a slotted hasp adapted to encircle the locking log or key, and arranged to cross the mouth of the seal-bracket to secure the seal therein, substantially as and tor the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of September, A. D. 1882.

ROBERT FEE W.

Witnesses:

W. B. GoRWIN, L. O. FITLER. 

